


Jet Boy Jet Girl

by used_songs



Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Artificial Intelligence, F/M, M/M, Polyamory, Suicide Attempt, Trust Issues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-27
Updated: 2016-10-27
Packaged: 2018-08-27 07:16:37
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,195
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8392249
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/used_songs/pseuds/used_songs
Summary: It's a fast paced life, but some things can still take a long time.





	

“Wait. What are you talking about?” he asked, not sure he had heard right the first time.

“It’s true,” Tony insisted drunkenly. “It’s my destiny,” he drew the word out, tasting it fully. “I’m damned.”

Jim leaned his head against the wall, the dorm mattress shifting beneath him. “Just because your dad makes weapons doesn’t mean you have to,” he said, pleased at how reasonable he sounded despite his advanced state of inebriation.

“But I will. I know I will.” There was a strangely sober finality to Tony’s words that didn’t match up to the half empty bottle of vodka clenched loosely in his fist.

“Is that such a terrible thing?” Jim asked after a moment’s thought. “I mean, of course, I’d like us to have world peace but we don’t, and we probably never will. So we need weapons to defend ourselves.” He rolled his head to the left and smiled at Tony. “You know that I’m going into the Air Force when I graduate. I’ll feel a damn sight safer having Stark weapons on my side, whether they’re your dad’s or yours.”

Tony stared at him so a long moment. “Yeah …” he finally answered slowly. “Yeah. But …”

“But?” Jim prodded him.

“But I’d rather make robots. And work on artificial intelligence.” The words came out in a rush, as if he’d been saving them up for a long time. As if he expected Jim to argue with him, to try to talk him out of it.

“You can do that, too.” Jim shrugged as if they had reached a logical conclusion.

Tony’s voice turned bitter. “That’s not what Howard says.”

“Well,” Jim replied, “I say you can do both.” He raised his beer decisively. “And you will!”

Tony listed to the side and ended up leaning against Jim, his forehead bumping up against his shoulder. “Thanks, Rhodey,” he said softly, the bottle forgotten in his hands.

Jim grunted. “I thought I told you to stop calling me that.”

“Thanks, Honey Bear.”

“Better.”

 

 

“Not gonna happen, Tones. You’re a baby.” Jim backed away quickly, the music in Tony’s dorm room an incessant heartbeat against all of the walls.

“I’m 15!”

“A baby. And high as a kite.” He frowned.

Tony gestured wildly, falling toward him as Jim dodged away again. “I’ve been having sex for years, Rhodey! Years!”

“That is … not right. Do you know what my mom would do to me if I touched you like that?”

“Don’t tell her.”

“She would know, man. She would know.” Jim held him back with a palm planted firmly against Tony’s chest when he surged forward again. “Cut it out. Even if she never found out, I wouldn’t do that with you.”

“I’m too young to drink, too, but you’ll do _that_ with me,” Tony said sulkily.

Jim thought for a moment. “It’s different. You know it’s different.”

“But you’re the only person I like … all of the others were just … you know.”

Yeah,” Jim said sadly. “I think I do know. Not gonna happen, Tony.”

 

 

 

“That … was the biggest explosion I’ve ever been a part of,” Jim said dreamily as Tony leapt triumphantly up into the air, his fist punching skyward. Around them, the clouds of smoke dissipated in the sharp breeze.

“You guys are going to be in so much trouble,” Amir warned. “So much trouble.” He glanced around at the clusters of students who were starting to gather. There weren’t many people left on campus this close to the winter break, but their explosion had pulled the remaining students from the nearby buildings.

“Totally worth it! Totally worth it!” Tony chanted.

“It _was_ fantastic,” Amir agreed. “Really loud, too!”

“Did you see that?” Jim asked, his blood still on fire. “That was amazing!”

“Shit! Here come the cops,” Amir said. “And campus security!” He shifted from foot to foot, his elation forgotten.

“Run!” said Tony with a wide grin. Amir took off immediately, and Jim followed him for a pace but then looked back.

“Tones?”

“Run, Rhodey! I’ll keep them busy. They won’t do anything to me. They can’t,” Tony said. “I’m Tony Stark.”

“Your dad?”

“Let me worry about that. Go!”

Jim ran as fast as he could.

After Christmas break was over, Jim found Tony in the cafeteria. “You never called me. I was worried,” he said, dropping his tray on the table and sitting down.

Tony shrugged. “Howard was pissed. He kept me busy.” He smiled. “I actually got a lot of work done because he wouldn’t let me out of the house.”

“Why’d you stick around if you knew he was going to punish you?”

“I didn’t want you to get into trouble,” Tony said shortly. “Plus, MIT expects that kind of thing from me.”

 

 

 

“Why do you keep staring at them, Jim?”  Carla asked. “He’s fine.”

“He’s too young,” Jim said, dissatisfaction curling sickly in his stomach. It had been a mistake to come to this party. He hadn’t expected to see Tony here with the upperclassmen, and when Tony had thrown him a casual wave and continued laughing with his coterie of hangers on Jim had known exactly what was going on in his head. Tony had figured he wasn’t cool enough for Jim to be seen talking to, so he had made the decision for them both.

Carla laughed, “Not too young, obviously. Isn’t he 16?”

On a couch on the opposite side of the room, Tony was gleefully working his way down the supine body of a pretty redhead who was watching him avidly, teasing her fingers through his hair. She sighed when he settled between her legs and looked up at her, smiling.

Jim couldn’t tell what Tony said to the girl, but it made her laugh.

 

 

 

“I don’t want to be the chick. You do it!” Jim said plaintively, his hands on his hips. “I’m taller than you anyway.”

“Misogynist. What if I told Carla you said that? She’d kick your ass.” Tony continued pushing the clutter in his room up against the walls and stacking books on his bed.

“Quit pretending like you’re so enlightened. You forget that I know you!”

“Yeah, but I’m not tied down to one person who’s gonna try to police my behavior. You be the girl. I’m the one giving this lesson.”

You’re supposed to be teaching me how to dance with Carla. Be serious! It’s her sister’s wedding!”

“OK, OK, I’ll be the girl … but I won’t put out after one dance.” Tony did a dramatic spin step combo that took him to the stereo. He punched the play button on the tape deck and music began to play as he made his way back to the center of the room.

“Shut up.” Jim shoved him affectionately. “I bet you would.”

“Haha,” Tony said drily. “OK. Put your hands like this,” he said, demonstrating. “No, dude, you have to actually touch me. If you hover over Carla like that she’s gonna think you’re weird. Which, for the record, you are.”

Jim cautiously put one hand at Tony’s waist, all too aware of warm skin under the thin T-shirt. He felt his heart thud. “Like this?”

“Perfect. Now hold on. I hope you’re a fast learner because dancing is boring as fuck, and this music sucks.”

 

 

 

Jim looked around the workshop, noting the multitude of empty bottles. “You know, Tones, just because you took over your dad’s company doesn’t mean you have to become an asshole like him.”

“Don’t you mean a drunken asshole like him? If we’re being totally accurate?”

“If we’re being totally accurate, an abusive drunken asshole whose time has come and gone.”

Tony looked at him, an instant of deep hurt in his eyes before he raised his glass in a sloppy salute. “Harsh … but probably true.”

“No … Tony. You’re not him. You … if you would just stop partying you could create amazing things, Tony. Make your robots and your AI. Let Stane worry about the missiles and the guns. You’re just tinkering when you do that.”

Tony smiled. “Missiles and guns keep me in Jack Daniels.”

“What happened to the kid who wanted to work in AI?” Jim asked, sinking down onto one of the stools and rolling an empty bottle between his outspread palms.

“He’s gone, Rhodey. He disappeared when I got the news about the car crash.” Tony took a drink. “He died, too.”

“I don’t believe that. I _know_ you, Tony. He’s still in there.” Jim studied the table top. “If he wasn’t, you wouldn’t still have that bucket of bolts kicking around,” he said, cocking a thumb toward DUM-E who stood drooping in the corner.

“I can’t believe you of all people are encouraging me not to work on new and better ways to kill people.”

Now Jim was hurt. “Not to kill people. To protect people.”

Tony waved a hand. “By killing people, Rhodey. That is all I am good for anymore. Just like dear old Dad.”

“Stop with the self-pity. And have a little faith in yourself.”

 

 

 

“I don’t understand why you would do it,” Jim said and he knew his voice sounded plaintive and raw and hurt, but he couldn’t help it. He sat down in the room’s single chair heavily.

On the bed, Tony shrugged and looked at the opposite corner of the room.

“Talk to me, Tones,” he said. “Was it … did Howard do something … or Obie? Or did something happen at that boarding school?”

“Really?” Tony said, his voice hard. “That’s what you think? Someone slapped me around and I got my feelings hurt and decided to off myself? It was an accident. Pills and liquor, they’ll mess you up if you get careless.”

“Don’t bullshit me, Tony. Nothing you do is an accident. It’s all on purpose and more than half of it is a performance. Is this you asking for help?”

“Oh my god.” Tony rolled his eyes. “I don’t believe this.”

Jim rubbed his forehead with the tips of his fingers. “Just be real with me. Tell me what this is. If you can convince me you won’t do it again, I’ll leave you alone about it.”

Tony was silent for so long that Jim drew a breath to try again. Before he could, Tony said, “It’s the numbers.”

“The numbers?”

Tony waved one hand in a rough circle in the air in front of him and then let both hands drop into his lap. “The numbers. Sometimes … only sometimes, they start going so fast that I can’t slow them down and … and I would do anything for some peace and quiet. That’s all.” He looked down at his hands, his cheeks lightly flushed. “I just wanted to shut my brain up for a little while.”

Jim looked at him, trying in vain to catch his eye. “OK,” he said slowly. “OK. So when this happens, can you please talk to me … or, if I’m unavailable, maybe Happy? If you need to get drunk, I will get drunk with you when the numbers are too fast and, if I can’t be there, then you and Happy can take it to the ring or something. Can you please do that for me?”

His gaze still down, Tony nodded silently.

“And don’t be embarrassed. I don’t care what anyone has told you, this is nothing to be embarrassed about. There is nothing wrong with you. You just need to let someone help you when it happens,” Jim added firmly. He reached over and took Tony’s hand, massaging it.

“OK, Rhodey.”

 

 

 

“This is Lieutenant Colonel James Rhodes. But we call him Rhodey. Say hello, JARVIS,” Tony said, spinning around in his chair and grinning.

“Hello, Lieutenant Colonel Rhodes.”

“Tony?”

“No, JARVIS. It’s Rhodey. Or Honey Bear.”

“Tony, who is JARVIS?”

“I am JARVIS, Sir. Just A Rather Very Intelligent System. Mr. Stark has provided me with information about your friendship. You met him at MIT and are his friend.”

“See? I do listen. Remember last year when you were on me about my passions? Well?”

“It’s … nice to meet you, JARVIS,” Jim said, looking around for a speaker.

“JARVIS is still a work in progress, but he’s already pretty incredible. I started him back at MIT, but I hadn’t done anything with his code in years. After our talk … I decided to see if I could still do it.”

“I am designed to learn from my interactions,” JARVIS commented.

“So you should interact with him, Rhodey,” Tony commanded. “Get to know each other.”

Jim sat down. “Can you see me, JARVIS?”

“We’re still working on that,” Tony interrupted. “It’s very hard to teach a computer to interpret visual input. We’re still working on object recognition, and then we’ll move on to building categories of objects and making generalizations. Facial recognition is a long way off, I’m afraid.”

“JARVIS, do you know who you are?”

“I am a learning system.”

“When you say ‘I’, JARVIS, what do you mean by that?” Jim asked. Tony grinned at him, obviously pleased by the question.

“The word ‘I’ signifies my awareness and volition,” JARVIS replied.

Jim whistled. “Awareness and volition, huh? That’s very impressive … and a little scary.”

 

 

 

“Never again, Tony,” Jim said, clutching his pounding head as the Malibu sunlight poured in through the floor to ceiling windows. “I’m blaming the tequila.”

“Was it that bad, Honey Bear?” Tony chided him playfully, though Rhodey could hear a sliver of hurt.

He turned and put his hands on either side of Tony’s face, trapping him against the mattress so that Tony couldn’t look away. “I don’t want to mess up our friendship, Tony. You have no idea how important you are to me, and I’ve seen how you discard your lovers once you’re done with them.”

“I wouldn’t do that to you, Rhodey.” Tony moved suggestively underneath him.

“Cut it out. Maybe you would, or maybe you wouldn’t. I’m not gonna risk it.”

Tony stilled and then stared at him for a moment. “OK. But give me one more kiss.”

Jim leaned forward, ready to commit this moment to his memories. Because it would never happen again.

 

 

 

“You talk to him, Jim, I’m done,” Obie said, his voice tight with frustration, as Tony shrugged his hand off his shoulder and turned toward the bar.

Pepper followed Tony. “Mr. Stark, I need your signature on these before you go.” She had a date tonight, and she’d been after his signature for over an hour now.

Obie sighed and left the penthouse. When the elevator door closed, Jim blew out his breath and followed the others to the bar. “What was all of that about?”

Tony waved one hand while picking up his drink with the other. “He wants me working on the Jericho, but I was supposed to go to an AI conference in Japan.”

“Can’t you do both?”

“Yes, but you know how Obie is,” Tony grumbled. “He likes me on a short leash.”

“TMI, Tony,” Jim said, accepting the drink Tony had poured him.

Pepper colored. “Mr. Stark! Your signature, please.” She placed the clipboard and pen on the bar in front of him.

“What am I signing?”

“You’re signing off on some designs R&D sent up last week.”

“Hold on. I’m not signing these without looking them over. Those idiots -.”

“You’ve had them for over a week! Mr. Stane wants to start produc-.”

“Well, Mr. Stane will have to wait a little longer. I’m not signing these.”

Pepper grabbed the clipboard and her pen. “Do you like making people wait for you?” she asked sharply.

Tony smiled. “Yes. Go home.” He held out his hand for the clipboard. “Leave them with me. I’ll look at the designs tonight and see what I can salvage.” When Pepper started to protest, he added, “Go home. You don’t need to waste any more time here tonight.”

Pepper handed him the clipboard. “Thank you, Mr. Stark.”

“Thank you, Ms. Potts.”

After the elevator door closed behind her, Jim said with admiration, “She is something else.”

“I like how she calls me on my bullshit,” Tony said absently, paging through the sheaf of designs.

“How come you don’t like it when I do that?” Jim teased. “Because I’m not a pretty red head?”

“It does make it more palatable,” Tony said, quirking a smile. He yanked a couple of sheets from under the clip and handed them over. “Take a look at these and tell me what you think.”

 

 

 

Hours logged in the cockpit. More hours studying satellite footage. Repeated failed attempts to contact JARVIS and see if he had found anything. None of it felt like forward motion. It was like running on a treadmill – slow and painful and taking him nowhere.

But the thing was … he couldn’t imagine Tony, even the version of himself that Tony had morphed into when he took over SI, still and dead. Tony had always been light and motion, fire screaming out behind him as he darted through dangerous skies. So how could he be dead, buried under hot yellow sand and silent?

Even after he had been warned and then disciplined for arguing to continue the search, Jim kept at it. 

And the moment when he saw his friend on his knees in that wide expanse of hot sand? He felt the relief in his blood, in his bones.

 

 

 

“The suit, Tony. It’s …”

Tony winked. “I know, right? Amazing.”

“It’s nothing like flying a jet. It feels like I’m part of the sky. Like lightning. Like I’m dancing.”

“Must be something to make you poetic. Imagine what it would feel like if you didn’t have all of the fucking Hammertech all over it.”

Jim nodded. “Too bad we still don’t have world peace.”

“Back at MIT you said you wouldn’t let me fly you around the world.” Tony spread his hands. “But look at us now.”

Jim smiled. “Thank you for letting me have it. I know I was a dick … I’ve been a dick ever since you announced SI’s new direction -.”

“I still owe you for a couple of decades’ worth of dickery, Pudding Pop,” Tony said.

 

 

 

He couldn’t help the flicker. The soreness in the center of his forehead, a tight band of tension that wouldn’t leave. He should be happy. He liked Pepper. She was good for Tony. Tony who was like a brother to him. Well, not a brother. But still. He should be happy. Instead, he felt like hitting something.

“I’m gonna take off, guys,” he said, getting up. “I have to report in early tomorrow and I need my beauty rest.”

“Why are you leaving?” Tony asked, tearing his eyes away from Pepper. “We have plenty of room here.”

“Nah. It’s OK. See you next time.” He waved. “Call me if you need me.”

Tony followed him to the elevator, stopping him with a light hand on his shoulder. “I always need you, Honey Bear.”

In the elevator on the way down Jim resolutely tried not to think about Tony and Pepper together, about how his friend might have actually found the person who gave him what he needed. He tried not to think about it.

 

 

 

“Tony … is that blood?”

“No …. Oh?” Tony felt his knees start to buckle as JARVIS locked the armor’s joints in order to keep him upright. “Yes?”

“Tony? Tony? Wake up.” Suddenly Rhodey was very close, his eyes intent and his voice sharp. “Stay with me.” Darkness.

This time, he was lying down, loose on the ground clad only in the undersuit. Rhodey was next to him, knees to the ground and one hand resting on Tony’s forehead. “Hang in there, Tony. EMTs are almost here.”

 

 

 

“I may have a kink or two,” Tony said, grinning like a loon.

“May?” Jim raised an eyebrow. “May? That’s not what I remember from college.”

“Gross,” Clint called from across the room, cutting over the sound of Tony’s amusement, and Steve snorted an unkind laugh. “Weren’t you a baby genius, Stark? You shouldn’t have had _any_ kinks in college.”

Pepper twitched. “Nobody asked you.”

“Hey now, Pep,” Tony said, lightly touching her hand. “It’s all good.”

Steve added, “Based on what I’ve been told, it doesn’t surprise me that you did. But that’s not great publicity for the Initiative.”

Jim felt a deep anger stir. Rogers had no idea what Tony’s life had been like. In fact, he probably had a limited idea of what it was like now.

“And the Star Spangled Man would know all about PR, right Captain Rogers?” Pepper said sweetly.

“Pepper! That was really … sexy,” said Tony.

She sighed. “I know, I’m sorry … it’s the Avengers and they’re allowed to do or say whatever they want. But …”

“But what?”

“Never mind.”

Tony turned his back to the others, effectively shutting everyone else out of their trio. “Pepper,” he said. “Trust me. I know. I’ve been doing this for a long time – since I was 17.”

Jim put a hand on his knee. “Since before that.”

Tony shrugged. “I know how the game is played.”

“That doesn’t make it right.” Pepper looked at Tony, and then she glanced down at where Jim’s hand still rested lightly on Tony’s knee. Jim started to remove his hand, but Pepper forestalled him by placing her palm on the back of his hand and gently pressing it back down.

Steve asked suddenly, “What do you mean, how the game is played? This isn’t a game.”

Pepper raised her voice, deliberately loud in the spacious room. “Sure it is. It’s called, How Much Stark Money Can We Spend While Still Being Jerks.”

Tony stifled a grin and Jim chuckled.

Steve said sharply, “That’s not funny. If Stark has a problem -.”

Pepper got up abruptly, reaching for both men’s hands. “Come on,” she said. “Let’s go get some dinner. JARVIS, have Happy meet us in the garage, please.”

“Very good, Ms. Potts,” JARVIS replied.

“Very good, Ms. Potts,” said Tony, his grin no longer hidden.

“Very good, Ms. Potts,” Rhodey added, throwing one arm around Tony’s shoulder and offering Pepper his other one as they left the room.

 

 

 

“Are you sure, Pepper?” Jim asked.

“You’re joking, right?” she said with a half smile. “There are very few people in the world that I’m confident in. You are one of them.”

“But is that enough?”

“Do you think I’m attractive?”

“Of course!”

Her tone darkened. “Do you think Tony is attractive?”

“Yes … I do. I have, for a long time.”

She wet her lips. “Did you ever do anything about it?”

“Once.”

“Why didn’t you hang on to him?”

Tony interjected, walking back into the room and stripping off his shirt, “I wasn’t a good risk at the time, Pep. Rhodey deserved better than what I had to offer.”

Jim stepped forward, unable to listen to anymore. He raised a hand and cupped the side of Tony’s face. “It was me. I was afraid.”

“Are you still afraid?”

Jim swallowed. “Yes. But I can’t stay away from you any longer.”

 

 

 

Tony couldn’t get past the feeling that someone else was inside his head, twisting his thoughts. He scrubbed a hand through his hair, his fingers clenching into a fist. The last few days had been a colossal clusterfuck, and he couldn’t shake the feeling that this was the beginning of the end.

“Are you OK, Tony?” Pepper asked, taking a seat at the penthouse breakfast table.

He shook his head. “Not really. No.”

“Is it the witch?” Jim asked, dropping a kiss on the top of each of their heads before he slid into his seat.

“Yeah. And everything else. Bruce. All the people who were killed or injured.” Tony grimaced. “No matter how fast I fly, how fast I think, I can’t save them all. And something worse is coming. I saw it.”

Pepper laid her napkin in her lap. “You don’t have to be perfect, Tony.”

“I do. I really do,” Tony replied. “There’s no one else.”

Jim interjected, “There are the Avengers. The X Men. The Fantastic Four. The military. You aren’t in this alone.”

“And you have us,” Pepper added, squeezing Jim’s hand and then leaning over to kiss Tony’s cheek.

 

 

 

“So … do the Avengers know about me?” Jim asked, running his fingers through Tony’s hair.

“I haven’t told them anything. Neither has Pepper,” Tony said. “I don’t know about Natasha or SHIELD … I mean, they’re fucking spies. When I had … when I had JARVIS, I had better security.”

“If they find out, they find out,” Jim said quietly. “Maybe we should tell them so they know I have your back.”

“They already know that,” Tony said. “They already know that there are only a few people in this world that I trust and that you two are on that list.”

“We _are_ that list,” said Jim affectionately.

Pepper said sleepily, “I’m pretty sure that polyamory would blow Captain Roger’s mind. He would probably consider it grounds for a lecture about behavior or something.”

“I think Tony has rubbed off on you,” Jim said, smiling.

 

 

“Where have you been?” he demanded.

“I’m sorry!” Pepper was already crying. “I thought … I needed to step away for a little while. But I always planned to come back!”

“I needed you, Pepper! We needed you here.” Tony turned his back to look out the window. “Rogers tore the team apart … he knew my parents were murdered and he lied to me about it!”

Pepper stepped forward, tears tracking down her cheeks, and placed a hand on his shoulder as he continued to rant. “How many times did he chew me out about withholding information, about not trusting him or the team?” he sneered.

“He … he almost killed me. With the shield. Left me behind. If it hadn’t been for FRIDAY and Vision, I would be dead. You would have come back to an empty house.” The reproach in his voice was almost unbearable.

“How’s Jim?’ she asked softly.

“How do you think he is?”

The question was angry, rhetorical, but she answered it honestly. “Stoic.”

“Yeah,” Tony said. “That’s a good word for it. He says … he says it wasn’t my fault. But if it wasn’t my fault, then whose fault is it?”

Pepper put her arms around him, her hands locked over the place where the arc reactor used to be. “It’s Rogers’ fault. And Ross. And SHIELD. And HYDRA.”

“What am I going to do, Pep?” Tony whispered. “How do I help him?”

“We’ll find a way. We’ll get him the best medical care … you’ll make him the best technology. We’ll find a way.”

“He’s going to be discharged from the Air Force. That’s all he ever wanted to do … now it’s gone.”

Pepper said, “We have to be strong for him. We have to support him, no matter what he chooses to do next.”

 

 

 

Tony looked around the common area of the tower. He hadn’t been on this floor in a long time, since the disaster with Ultron, since JARVIS had died. He’d stuck to the workshop levels and to the penthouse. Once Bruce and the others had scattered, he had had all of the Avengers floors stripped, cleaned, and locked down.  The common rooms were now as lifeless as so many of the rooms at the mansion had been during his brief childhood.

“I was so wrong, Rhodey. I was so wrong.” He walked at a diagonal across the space toward the windows.

Jim followed. “About what?”

“I thought I could trust them, but it turns out that was the last thing I should’ve done. What the hell was I thinking?”

Jim replied, “You were thinking what we all think – that we don’t want to be alone. You wanted companionship with people who had gone through the same shit as you but -.”

“But there’s no one like that,” Tony cut in, turning to look at him. “And I haven’t been through what they’ve been through.” He groaned. “How did I not realize how fucked up Rogers was? Everyone thought he had adjusted so well to modern times, even though that makes no sense.”

Jim snorted. “Obviously everyone thought wrong.”

“I’m so bad at people, Rhodey. I really am.” His voice was raw. “I think I’m missing something.”

“They were just as bad as you, if not worse.”

“You know who I can count on, Sugar Bear? You and Pepper … and Happy. As always. I’m done trying with anyone else. It’s not worth it.”

“Even if Bruce comes back?”

Tony replied shortly, “He won’t.”

Jim shrugged. “Then he’s no great loss.”

“Anyway, he’s not like us.”

Jim thought for a moment. “You’re right. Fuck them!”

 

 

 

“He always lands on his feet, doesn’t he?” Natasha remarked, gesturing at the cover of _Wired_ that Steve held.

On it, Tony was featured, his eyes shaded with lightly tinted glasses, the line of his van Dyke precise as a knife edge, and his suit just this side of haute couture. What really stood out, though, to people who had once known him, was how impeccable his public mask was.

“What’s the article about?”

“His clean energy program and the SI medical nanotechnology project that cured Rhodes’ paralysis, his MIT scholarship programs, his work on behalf of inhuman kids, and some conjecture about his private life,” Steve answered dully.

“Have they figured out yet that he has a husband and a wife?” Natasha asked idly.

Steve shrugged. “’The acrimonious so-called Civil War broke apart the fissure that had always been present in the Avengers, with Stark almost alone on one side and most of the others lined up behind Steve Rogers. Despite life threatening injuries sustained during the conflict, Stark was seen just a few months later at the UN helping to put the finishing touches on the current version of the Accords before he returned to Stark Tower in New York. There is some talk that he was the first patient to undergo the nanotech treatment which has since become a medical standard. These days Stark maintains a rigorous split between public and private lives. Gone are the hard partying days that are still legendary in some circles and his hot dogging superhero days as well. He is every inch the socially conscious businessman and eccentric genius now, more likely to spend quality time with his R&D department than in his Iron Man suit or in a Las Vegas casino. He has never been a team player, and this seems unlikely to change. Very few people are allowed inside his closely guarded walls now, and the superhero clubhouse is a thing of the past. Long-time girlfriend and SI CEO Pepper Potts and friend-since-college retired Lieutenant Colonel James Rhodes both live in Stark Tower with him and Stark hosts the occasional guest like Elon Musk, Buzz Aldrin, and inventor Lisa DeLuca , but he reportedly spends the bulk of his time alone in his workshop with his robots and the strong AI he is rumored to have created. Only the constant stream of innovations and new inventions coming out of SI tells the story of what happens within his fortress.’”

Natasha smiled. “Good. Then he’s happy.”

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Inspiration - https://youtu.be/OQKyMZ8gsPI


End file.
